"What do you do all day?"

Well I just could resist. I read this article that my friend Katie linked to and mentioned on her blog recently where the author is doubting that stay at home moms really are very busy. There is a response from a genius mom where she says this:

"When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself."

I LOVE her response! Well I've had this question asked to me several times and I always feel like I give the dumbest answers. I don't always remember all of the things that I do throughout the day but I know I'm always busy and that I'm always exhausted at the end of the day! So today I decided to sit down every few hours and do a recap of what I did today. If you are curious what a stay at home mom does all day, here is a typical day (although for me if it was Monday this would include babysitting Maddie's piano teachers 3 kids from 3:30 to 5:30 and driving Maddie to piano lessons at 5 and then planning and carrying out Family Home Evening as well as preparing 4 dinner meals to be swapped on Tuesday morning, and if it was Wednesday I'd also be picking the kids up from school and driving them to choir and Karate - every other Wednesday). So read on if you care, or are curious, if not then just to sum up, it was a great/busy /full day!

-7:45 wake up (I'm spoiled I know I get to "sleep in")
-read Scriptures
-unload Dishwasher
-hug and say good morning to kids
-wipe a few runny noses
-change Nathan's diaper
-get breakfast for all 4 kids (staggered over 30 minutes)
-ask the kids to clear their place and put their dishes in the sink
-clean up after breakfast
-eat breakfast
-load dishwasher
-wipe down table
-make sure Tyler has homework and papers and "take home book"
-make sure Tyler has brushed his teeth and is wearing socks under his shoes
-say family prayers
-send Tyler off to school
-get Emily and Nathan into the bath and Maddie into the shower
-fluff clothes in dryer
-gather dirty clothes that the kids have thrown onto the floor
-put load of laundry into the washer
-wash and rinse the kids
-fold and put away clothes in dryer
-notice that my sweet husband has made the bed this morning
-chase naked kids around and wrestle them into clothes
-blow dry Emily's hair
-brush Emily and Nathan's teeth
-check Maddie's teeth/breath
-clean up some spilled toothpaste on the counter and sink
-brush MY teeth
-do girls hair
-change clothes from washer to dryer
-hang up the towels the kids have strewn around upstairs
-get shoes on 3 youngest
-get Emily off to preschool
-deliver a few chocolates from the kids school fundraiser
-get the mail (still there from yesterday)
-come home (It's now 10:15 am)
-check email
-wipe another runny nose
-start exercise on the treadmill
-stop exercising to turn on Go Diego Go
-get back on the treadmill
-get off the treadmill to answer the phone
-get back on the treadmill
-get off the treadmill to find out what Maddie is yelling about
-get back on the treadmill
-finish work out
-come upstairs and get meals together for dinner swap
-have Alli and Shiloam over to swap dinners
-enjoy a bit of chatting
-pretend to eat a smorgasbord of yummy plastic food served by Nathan and Maddie
-give in to pleading from Nathan for a leftover cupcake from his birthday
-chase him back into the kitchen numerous times with said cupcake
-give in to Maddie to have her own cupcake
-try to chat some more
-watch Maddie spill the majority of her cupcake onto the floor
-ask her to sweep up her mess
-wipe up Nathans face and hands and clean up his crumbled cupcake remnants
-help Maddie sweep the crumbs into a pile and let her sweep it into the dustpan
-watch her fling cupcake chunks all over the kitchen
-sweep them back into the pile and ask her to try again slowly
-watch her fling them all over some more and then walk all over them
-give up and sweep up the mess myself
-find Nathan with the Tupperware of cupcakes on the floor digging in to another one
-clean him up
-clean up his cupcake mess
-try to chat some more
-praise kids for neat tricks they've started doing out on the porch with a basketball
-give up on chatting and say goodbye to Shiloam
-get Maddie and Nathan sandwiches for lunch
-put on shoes and coats
-walk to pick up Emily from Preschool
-walk home (it's now 12:10 pm)
-get lunch for Emily and finish feeding Nathan
-accept a daffodil from Maddie with a hug and a thank you
-ask Maddie and Nathan to clean up the play food
-read with Maddie for a second
-send Maddie off to the bus stop
-accept a daffodil from Nathan with a hug and a thank you
-eat the kids leftover lunch as my own lunch
-put Nathan on the "naughty step" for hitting Emily
-wipe down counters and table from lunch mess
-add bread to my grocery list
-check pantry and fridge for anything else we need at the store, add a few more items to my list
-calm down crying/whining Nathan
-rinse out the Tupperware that we emptied for lunch
-load lunch dishes into the dishwasher
-hang up coats that the kids have thrown on the floor
-hang up a hand towel that Emily left on the counter in the bathroom
-put a few random toys on the basement steps to be brought down sometime later
-read a book and sing with Emily
-read a few blog posts of friends and family
-try to get in the shower
-get sidetracked by crying Nathan and clean clothes in the dryer
-get Nathan a sippy cup and snuggle him for a bit
-fold and put away clothes in the dryer
-put a new load into the washing machine
-pat myself on the back because I am ALL CAUGHT UP ON LAUNDRY
-cut some of Tyler's ripped pants at the knees to be hemmed sometime later (maybe)
-clean up all of the girls hair clips and headbands that have been dumped all over the floor for the past 3 days
-make a mental note to bag up all the "D.I" clothes that we've piled up in our room
-while I'm thinking about bagging up clothes I decide I really need to buy a few more plastic bins to put the kids clothes in that they've grown out of that are now stashed on the tops of their closets and in the laundry room (add plastic bins to my shopping list)
-put away the port-a-crib that is out from watching my niece and nephew yesterday
-make a mental note that I really need to empty the garbage in the kids bathroom
-chat with Peter for a bit when he comes upstairs for lunch
-eat Peter's leftovers to finish up my lunch
-rinse off dishes and put in the dishwasher
-put on shin guards for Nathan so he "can play soccer"
-praise Nathan for his good kicks
-turn on Dora for Nathan and Emily
-put Nathan on the "naughty step" for hurting and yelling at Emily
-switch the clothes from the washer into the dryer
-listen to Emily tell a very creative story about mermaids and lightning and 2 bad guys
-get in the shower (it's now 1:45 pm)
-successful shower! got showered, dressed, hair dried and makeup on before the kids needed something!
-add face wash to my shopping list
-organize coupons and price-match list for shopping trip
-change Nathan's diaper
-put Nathan down for a nap
-get Emily's shoes on
-pick up a few random things left in the middle of the floor
-leave for the grocery store with Emily (one of the perks of Peter working at home! I can leave a sleeping child at home while I run errands)
-call my sister about Women's Conference while I drive
-return Redbox movie
-call my mom to chat while I shop
-realize that it's harder to talk and shop while trying to find exact brands and sizes of products that I am price matching or that I have coupons for
-say goodbye to my mom
-realize that checkout at the store is a lot different when you have price match items and coupon items and several huge items and a 3 year old running around
-return exhausted from the store
-unload groceries
-enlist the help of all the kids to help unload and put away groceries
-round up the kids to do their chores
-pick up a few things laying around the house
-get a snack for Emily and Nathan
-have Tyler take out all of the garbages (including the kids bathroom garbage that was overflowing)
-fill 2 big black garbage bags of clothes for D.I.
-send one of the kids to their room for yelling and talking back
-make a mental note to fix the moulding from the blinds in our bedroom
-get the girls to clean their rooms
-have 3 biggest kids put away their "laundry buckets"
-find Nathan in my room playing with my jewelry
-have him help me clean it all up and find my missing earring
-put some things away in the bathroom and notice garbage on the floor
-have Tyler come back and get all of the garbage that was left on the floor around the garbage cans
-inspect the girls bedroom and tell them they can go to a friends house
-get a big drink of water and sit down for a minute (exhausted)
-reply to a few emails
-check our bank account online, pay a few bills and manage finances
-look for a good deal on a bunk bed and dressers on craigslist and ksl and ebay
-realize that my wrist is really starting to hurt again and I should call for an appointment to get it checked out
-while thinking about making an appointment I remember that I really need to call my finger surgeon to talk with him about why my finger still won't bend all the way and still hurts occasionally (it's been almost a year)
-find Nathan with his hands in the toilet and his shirt all wet
-change his clothes and diaper
-clean up bathroom he was playing in
-answer a few phone calls
-feel incredibly grateful that I don't have to think about dinner since we had our dinner swap today and I have meals waiting for me in the fridge. (It is now 5:45 pm)
-help Maddie with piano lessons
-help Tyler with his homework
-console crying Nathan
-realize that the volume level in my house has started to rise as the kids are all inside and excited from the day
-change Nathan's diaper
-start heating up dinner (Ravioli Soup tonight - thanks Alli!)
-gather the kids for dinner
-serve dinner
-talk about what they did at school today
-Nathan starts making ravioli soup in his cup of water - nice!
-girls start to pretend to throw food at each other
-Nathan DOES throw food
-clean up the food splattered on the table, chair and floor
-have kids help clear their place and load dishwasher
-get kids jammied up and send them downstairs to play
-decide to sit and scrapbook for awhile
-get a phone call with questions about Photoshop
-start scrapbooking
-watch Nathan play soccer
-praise his efforts and watch him bask in the one on one attention
-give kisses to his hurt toes to which he responds "Tanx mommy... I yuv you!"
-resolve a few quarrels between Nathan and Emily
-start the dishwasher
-wipe down the counters and table
-sweep the floor
-gather kids for bed (it's 7:55 pm)
-read scriptures to kids
-get cough medicine for Maddie and Nathan
-say prayers
-sing songs while I fold the whites from the dryer
-put Nathan in our closet with the light on as punishment for getting out of bed a gazillion times
-tuck kids in and kiss goodnight
-snuggle with Nathan on my bed for a bit to get him to calm down while I read scriptures (it's now 8:45 pm)
-finish scrapbook page
-check email and facebook and updated bogs of friends and family
-sneak a few grasshopper cookies that I got for a great deal today!
-put away the toys that have gathered on the basement stairs to be dealt with later
-watch a show with Peter
-get ready for bed
-fall asleep exhausted but happy for another day as a wife to the most wonderful hardworking dedicated loving fabulous man and mother to the sweetest most adorable children on the face of the earth.


I thought it'd make me feel better about my day being able to look back and read all of the things I'd accomplished, but really, I feel the same as I do on any other day! But at least now those of you who are not stay at home moms and wonder will know. To my one friend who thinks I sit on the computer and "facebook all day". That simply is not the case! Having young children prevents you from doing any one thing "all day". Even if you tried, you'd be pulled away constantly by the needs and demands of motherhood. I admit that I do spend a good portion of my free time on the computer (when I have free time or choose to MAKE free time) because I use it to scrapbook and keep up with friends and family and find good deals and take care of finances and read the news and a gazillion other things, but I hope that after reading this, anyone could look at my day and know that I do not sit on the computer all day long! Thank you very much!